Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company in dollar sales, announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten of its markets beginning sometime this year.

"Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network," the carrier said in a statement without providing further detail.

Vodafone was at one time believed to be the frontrunner to secure an exclusive contract to sell the current version of the iPhone in the UK, but inevitably lost out to Telefonica's O2 back in September.

Upon last check, the Newbury, England-based firm had 252 million proportionate customers in 25 markets across 5 continents, making it the second largest wireless carrier worldwide in terms of subscribers, trailing only China Mobile.

Vodafone joins Rogers of Canada as the second carrier in as many weeks to announce a deal to usher the iconic touch-screen handset into new markets, presumably alongside the arrival of a 3G model that will operate on the carriers faster GSM-based networks.

Apple had previously stated that it planned to scale the iPhone to additional European countries and parts of Asia during the 2008 calendar year.

Waiting to hear news about which Japanese carrier will get it, Docomo or SoftBank.

Please make it soon...

KDDi is better and cheaper. I've used all of them and I'm sticking with KDDi/AU. Lots of my Japanese friends have switched too. I do like Docomo though. Softbank sucks bone. If Apple goes with SoftBank I'd laugh my Azz off.

Well it looks like Vodafone is not the only one that gets to release the iPhone in Italy.

//Rob

Interesting. Looks like Apple's just signing contracts left right and centre.
I guess that 10 mil iPhones sold in 2008 will be easily met. Still not the 45mil as some analyst predicted, but with multiple vendors and a new no revenue sharing strategy, these phones will fly off the shelves.

Apple Inc. will apparently abandon its exclusive carrier model for iPhone sales alongside the release of a 3G model, as two Italian carriers have issued statements Tuesday claiming rights to distribute the iPhone later this year.

On the heels of an announcement by Vodafone in which the multi-national provider said it had reached an agreement to sell the iPhone in Italy and nine other countries later this year, Telecom Italia is claiming it will also soon offer the handset to its customers.

"Telecom Italia announces today that it has signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Italy within the year," the carrier said in a one line statement.

The announcements appear to signal an end to the exclusive agreements forged ahead of the initial iPhone launch last year, which have thus far proven successful only in the United States.

Reports out of Europe have routinely suggested that sales of the inaugural Apple handset in the region have been lackluster for a variety of reasons, including a lack of 3G compatibility, steep pricing, and limited carrier options.

A recent report from the Spanish-language business paper Cinco Dias stated that the Cupertino-based handset maker was having doubts about its exclusive carrier model after witnessing poor sales in Europe and watching customers unlock the phones themselves for use on unsanctioned carriers.

The paper went on to cite sources close to ongoing negotiations as saying that Apple was mulling the prospect of selling the iPhone through multiple providers in Latin American nations. It added that discussions with Telefonica in Spain have been ongoing for months, and correctly predicted that Apple would use Italy as a testbed by offering the handset through more than just Telecom Italia.

Though neither of the announcements on Tuesday specifically mentioned a 3G version of the iPhone, the consensus amongst insiders, analysts, and pundits alike is that Apple has been aligning deals for expanded distribution ahead of the next-generation handset.

Back in February, the iPhone maker offered the first hints that it would forgo exclusivity with carriers in favor broadening distribution when chief operating officer Tim Cook stated during a Goldman Sachs investment conference that the company was "not married to any business model," but was instead wed only to "shipping the best phones in the world."

Of interest, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky recently met with members of Apple's leadership and followed up with a research note Monday stating that the company was considering a move to allow subsidized pricing, diminishing carrier exclusivity, and support global unlocked iPhone sales going forward.

I have a dream... that a Vodafone plan would let you use the vodafone network IN ALL THOSE 10 COUNTRIES! without ridiculously expensive roaming charges. Using Internet on your phone in another country for 1 hour can almost buy you a new Macbook. There is absolutely no reason why vodafone or any other carrier makes you bleed for these 'roaming' costs, accept for making easy bucks while sucking us dry.

I have a dream... that a Vodafone plan would let you use the vodafone network IN ALL THOSE 10 COUNTRIES! without ridiculously expensive roaming charges. Using Internet on your phone in another country for 1 hour can almost buy you a new Macbook. There is absolutely no reason why vodafone or any other carrier makes you bleed for these 'roaming' costs, accept for making easy bucks while sucking us dry.

Ah yes same here in Japan but hey, why don't you just surf the net at HotSpots? Why use your own mobile carrier?

KDDi is better and cheaper. I've used all of them and I'm sticking with KDDi/AU. Lots of my Japanese friends have switched too. I do like Docomo though. Softbank sucks bone. If Apple goes with SoftBank I'd laugh my Azz off.

But hey If the phone is unlocked it shouldn't matter right.

Japan needs more WiFi though.

Agreed on needing more wifi here. It's cropping up here and there, but not fast enough.

Have used AU for years and am switching to a new carrier this year. The wife wants to go with Docomo because of free family calls; I like the look of their new phone with its 5.1 camera from Sony (I take hundreds of photos). AU has the Casion camera, but I like the Sony better.

I recently heard a rumor that Apple employees in Japan are supplied with a Docomo phone if they have a Softbank phone and vice versa so that they have a phone from both companies so that they will have both bases covered.

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

Interesting. Looks like Apple's just signing contracts left right and centre.
I guess that 10 mil iPhones sold in 2008 will be easily met. Still not the 45mil as some analyst predicted, but with multiple vendors and a new no revenue sharing strategy, these phones will fly off the shelves.

We don't have iTunes Music Store either - so I am curious how activation would work
If it means also opening of iTMS it would be more important event then iPhone introduction...

FWIW, Vodophone's Japan operations were taken over by Softbank last year, I think.

Yup...

Also I love AU's service but HATE their phones. I have that Casio you're talkin bout. They're all fugly. Docomo's are nice.

Have you heard that story about the pres of SoftBank giving the green light to all those Cameron Diaz CMs? Like 3 million for 6 hours work per CM or some crazy thing. And you've seen how many CMs she has right? Wonder how much they paid Brad Pitt?

The announcements appear to signal an end to the exclusive agreements forged ahead of the initial iPhone launch last year, which have thus far proven successful only in the United States.

Reports out of Europe have routinely suggested that sales of the inaugural Apple handset in the region have been lackluster for a variety of reasons, including a lack of 3G compatibility, steep pricing, and limited carrier options.

A recent report from the Spanish-language business paper Cinco Dias stated that the Cupertino-based handset maker was having doubts about its exclusive carrier model after witnessing poor sales in Europe and watching customers unlock the phones themselves for use on unsanctioned carriers.

I have a dream... that a Vodafone plan would let you use the vodafone network IN ALL THOSE 10 COUNTRIES! without ridiculously expensive roaming charges. Using Internet on your phone in another country for 1 hour can almost buy you a new Macbook. There is absolutely no reason why vodafone or any other carrier makes you bleed for these 'roaming' costs, accept for making easy bucks while sucking us dry.

I think you may have to drean on for a while...just like us in belgium...for an iPhone

Probably not. Vodaphone seems to have exclusive rights in 9 or 10 countries right now. Italy has a reported 91% of cell users on a pay-as-you-go plan so things would have to be changed with this unusual setup.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluedalmatian

something of an about-turn for vodafone. pity they didnt get it in the uk. i switched from them to o2 and havent been very impressed with o2s coverage in comparison

They were the ones that tried to keep T-Mobile from selling the iPhone in Germany not too long ago.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

Probably not. Vodaphone seems to have exclusive rights in 9 or 10 countries right now. Italy has a reported 91% of cell users on a pay-as-you-go plan so things would have to be changed with this unusual setup.

They were the ones that tried to keep T-Mobile from selling the iPhone in Germany not too long ago.

I want to ask you something.i am from greece and i want to ask if anybody knows if there will be a logo of vodafone on the device or if the iphone will contain a vodafone live menu,because if something like this happens i wont buy it.

I want to ask you something.i am from greece and i want to ask if anybody knows if there will be a logo of vodafone on the device or if the iphone will contain a vodafone live menu,because if something like this happens i wont buy it.

So far the iPhone is in 6 countries (US, UK, Germany, France, Ireland & Austria) without having a stamped logo on the device or an alteration of the software. The active carrier's name is listed in the upper right corner of the screen, but that is it. You're safe.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

None of us know., but both the iPhone and iPhone Touch were updated to higher capacities and firmware on Feb. 5th, 2008. That was 91 days ago; the average HW refresh rate for the iPhone is 153 days and the iPod Touch is 111 (it debuted in Sept. 2007).

That said, I don't see the iPod Touch moving to a 64GB model just yet, but v2.0 will surely be available alongside the iPhone. If you meant will it get an overhaul in it's design, I'd wager likely not for another year or so.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

No...I suppose you could use one AS a brothel but then you'd have to charge your clients the room fee on top of the "favors" fee. They're just cheaper hotels/motels where you can stay the night or 'rest' (won't be resting though). Convenient if you live with kids, parents, wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, roommate or all of the above

They actually used to be much better until the gov started cracking down and has been making them more conservative. This was due to an article in a famous magazine a long time ago that basically said Japan was the love/sex hotel capital of the world so the gov decided it was time to clean it up. There used to be many more wild ones.

FWIW the best ones in Japan are in Osaka. You still find many crazy ones with all sorts of styles. Hello Kitty themes, African themes, Racing car themes, you name it.